Sir Ian Making a Recovery after Fall

Sir Ian McKellen, who was rushed to hospital after falling from a stage in the West End, is taking time out for the rest of the tour of the play Player Kings in order to make a full recovery and convalesce.  The Guardian newspaper reports that the veteran actor said he was taking medical advice with “the greatest reluctance” to “protect my full recovery”.  Sir Ian, who is eighty five, will be replaced by his understudy, David Semark, who will now complete the tour as Sir John Falstaff.  Sir Ian said: “Two weeks after my accident onstage, my injuries improve day by day. It’s with the greatest reluctance that I have accepted the medical advice to protect my full recovery by not working in the meantime.   I had been so looking forward to bringing Player Kings to theatregoers in Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle. But I can assure them that, with David Semark now playing Falstaff, Robert Icke’s production and his acting company remain as dazzling as ever. Go see for yourself.”